Kudolph w



@uitrit gisten @anni @ffice RUDOLPH W.. RIESS, OF PHILADELPHIA,PENNSYLVANIA. Letters .Patent No. 69,705, datccZOczober 8, 1867. i

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY STEAM ENGINES.

'ro ALL wHoM rr MAY coNeEnN:

Be it known that I, RUDOLPH W. RIESS, of the city andcounty ofPhiladelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Rotary Engines; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a clear and exact description of thehnature thereof, suilicienttoenableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to fullyunderstand and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanyingdrawings, making part of this specification, in which-#- Figure 1 isV aview of the inside of the cylinder, showing its working parts.

Figure 2 is an end view thereof.

Figure 3 is a detached view of the lever which operates the valve.

, Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral tigures.

My invention consists in a valve withinA the cylinder for reversing themotion of the engine, and which forms part of the intcriorof thecylinder, whereby the pistons will operate; also in the construction ofthe pis- Y tons, and in a lever which operates the valves, all as willbe hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings, A represents the cylinder, having the usual heads a andb, and mountedon legs or feet b or other suitable means;V4 O is thesteam-port, and D the exhaust. The cylinder A is concentric with thepiston-wheel E, in which are passages or ways e for the reception of thepistons F. These pistons are of the width of the wheel, and are recessedat their inner ends, having legs, which straddle or cover springs d,which are fitted on small rods orpins at the b'ase of the passages e.One end of these springs bears against this base, und the otherend'againstf the pistons, whereby thepistons are always pressed againstthe inner periphery or face of the cylinder Af Thewheel is mounted on anordinary driving-sl1aft,e, whose bearings are in the heads of thecylinder.v is a valve, ttedwithin the inner periphery of the cylinder,which is cut away, as

shown atf, and where the steam enters the cylinder. This valve ismounted on a pintle or shaft, g, secured .to its back, and whosebearings are in the cylinder-heads. 'The inner face of the valve is ofconcave form,

und corresponds with the inner periphery ofthe cylinder. The upperandlower ends of the valve are bevelled, so that they will fit snugly inthe cut away pertionfof the inner face of the cylinder. The valve willform a continuation of the said innerface, according as either end ofthe valve is open er shut.

The operation is as follows: The valve being in position, as shown in g.1, steam is admitted into the Vcylinder' through the port C, and willpass behind the va-lve and exert itself against the piston No. 1. Theupperv inner endof the valve being in contact with the pistonwheel, thesteam cannot pass downwards, andI thus will bear against the'left sidesof the pistons, and move them as indicated by the arrows. When pistonNo. 1 nearly reaches the exhaust-port, piston' No. 2 will be operated byanother supply of steam, and so soon as' the exhaust-port is partlyuncovered, the steam between thesetwo pistons will pass ont through theexhaustport. The operation of pistons-2 and 3 is the same as the above.So soon as the pistons reach the lower end of the valve they are forcedV inward towards the centre of the piston-wheel until they clear thevalve, when they will immediately spring out and come in contact withthe inner periphery-of the cylinder, 'ready for impact of the steam. lShould it be desired to reverse the motion of the engine, th-e Valve isturned from right to left, when communication between the cylinder andsteam-port is at the bottom of the valve, the top being closed.Theoperation in thiscase is the same as in the former, except -that thesteam exerts itself against the righthand sides of the pis-tons, and ofcourse causes the piston-wheel to revolve in a contrary direction fromthat indicated by the arrows. The valve performs two functions, viz,admits thesteam-according to the direction desired, and also `forms theirregular or eccentric shape of the inner face-of the cylinder, which isnecessary to operate the pistons. -H is an oil er tallowcup, to"tdmitoil for the necessary lubrication of the working parts. I is a faucet orcock to allow the water of condensation to pass o. The bearings ofthepintle g of the valve G are continuedv on o'ne side, beyond thecylinder-heads, so as to receive an operating-lever, K. This lever liesagainst the cylinder-head, and is retained in `place by alug, h, againstwhich the lever bears. I form the lever in two parts, which are hingedtpgether near its lower end. Y' Now, in order to move the lever over thelug and some of the bolts, the top part is drawn outwards, and thenturned to the right or left, as desired. I thus dispense with any othermeans of fastening the lever, and present a simple and ingenious mode,as described, as well as a practical and useful rotary engine.

Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The reversible valve'O of a rotary engine, constructed and arrangedsubstantially as described.

2. In combination with the above, the lever K, constructed Ofhingedparts, substantially as described..

lTo the above I have signed'my name this seventeenth day ci' July, 1867.

. RUDOLPH W. RIESS.

Witnesses:

Wn. M. CLARK, j "F. ScHLEVI'rz.

